


i will love you till the day i die

by scoutshonour



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Angst, Death, Established Relationship, F/F, dying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-10-12 10:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10488864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scoutshonour/pseuds/scoutshonour
Summary: She was going to die.So instead of using her phone to call nine-one-one, Maya musters all her energy to pull her phone out of her jacket pocket, and dial Riley's number.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> for the prompt: "person b knows they're undoubtedly about to die within the next few seconds, likely from the gaping would they're bleeding out from. instead of calling for help, they phone person a and carry on a casual conversation as if nothing is wrong, making sure to mention how much they love them before their time runs out."

Maya knew what they'd say when they found her.

_It was a mugging gone wrong._

She could feel the blood beginning to pour out of her wound, sliding down her sides, slowly and painfully, could hear the person who  _shot her right in the fucking chest_ begin to run away frantically, their heels clacking against the pavement.

_Holy shit. She was just shot._

Everything happened so quickly, she could barely register the guy in the hoodie pulling a gun out-

everything about this was so damn cliched, a mugger shooting her, and her getting in the back of a  _freaking alley._

She tried to get up, tried to move, tried to do  _something_ other than laying on the cold, hard ground, but she couldn't. 

She looked down, trying to determine the wound's location, and with a sinking feeling, she realized he'd shot her through the stomach.

And that's when it hit her: she was going to die.

She couldn't move her legs, her arms, and she was bleeding out, her yellow shirt fully drenched in crimson at this point-she was going to fucking die because she refused to give her money to some stranger with a gun.

Then the panic hits her.

_I've barely lived,_ she thinks, completely terrified.

She's only twenty-four, just out of school. Never married, never had kids, never got to travel the world, never got to make amends with her father-all the things she hoped to do before she died.

Well at least, she had fallen in love.

_Riley._

The one thing that broke her the most was knowing she was going to leave Riley Matthews behind.

She was laying in a pool of her own blood now, the wound deep. There was no way in hell she would make it.

There was no point in trying.

She was  _going to die._

So instead of using her phone to call nine-one-one, Maya musters all her energy to pull her phone out of her jacket pocket, and dial Riley's number.

"Maya," Riley's groggy voice replies on the first ring.

Maya feels so damn relieved she could cry, and then she realizes she already is. "Riles?"

"Whoa, whoa, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. I-I picked up the milk, like you asked."

"Mm," she says into the phone, instantly brightening up. Maya can almost picture it: her laying in bed, their comforter wrapped around her, her holding the phone up to her ear with a big, dorky smile on her face. "I'll make you some pasta later, how does that sound?"

"Sounds great," she chokes out. It's getting harder to breathe-her breaths are shorter, take more energy.

She needs to wrap it up, she realizes.

Her time is running out.

"Listen, Riley, I'm gonna have to hang up, I just-I just want you to know that I love you, okay? I love you to the moon and back and I promise you, I always will."

"Aw, Maya-I love you too," she says softly, the smile sounding in hr voice. "I'll see you soon, okay? And," she adds, in a lower voice, that voice when she's trying to be seductive, "I'll show you  _just_ how much I love you." She laughs lightly, and Maya's glad that's one of the last things she gets to hear.

"Bye, honey," Maya breathes, the pain beginning to dull.

"Bye Peaches."

Riley hangs up, and Maya replays the words in her head over and over, focusing on the lull of Riley's voice. She slides her hand over her stomach, feels the blood on her fingertips, and she's filled with acceptance.

She will die at twenty-four and that's okay. It wasn't really, nothing about this was okay, but she was going to be okay. She would meet Riley in another life, in the after life,  _whenever_ Riley would die.

They would find each other.

And then suddenly, everything feels lighter, the pain comes to a sudden stop, and she feels nothing as the world begins to become brighter, and brighter, a blindingly white light clouding her vision.

_Bye Peaches._

The bright light tugs at her, urges her to close her eyes-

and with one final breath, she does.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Maya calls Riley, Riley doesn't expect it to be the last time she ever hears the love of her life's voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all asked for it.

Riley's laying in bed when her phone starts to buzz during a nap. She's comfortable, getting the rest she needs, when the call wakes her up.

She growls at first when she realizes someone is calling her, swearing revenge on whoever the hell is calling her while she's  _sleeping,_ reaching out to her nightstand to grab her phone. But all plans of vengeance are cut short when she realizes it's Maya calling, her big, beautiful grin lighting up her screen. Her heart fills with joy and she smiles before answering it.

"Maya?" Riley answers, pressing the phone against her ear.

" _Riles?_ " Maya's voice is cracked; she sounds scared, fearful. It's alarming, catching Riley's attention as she sits upright, concern plaguing her.

"Whoa, whoa, are you alright?" She knows Maya and she knows when something is wrong.

Something is off.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. I-I picked up the milk, like you asked." 

Riley lets out a breath in relief.  She knows Maya would never lie to her, she has no reason to. Riley must be overthinking, she thinks dismissively. Maya's okay, she has to be.

"Mm. I'll make you some pasta later, how does that sound?" Riley says softly, hoping she doesn't sound too excited. She has a lot in store for tonight, but it has to be a surprise.

There's heavy breathing on the other line.  "Listen, Riley, I'm gonna have to hang up, I just-I just want you to know that I love you, okay? I love you to the moon and back and I promise you, I always will."

This isn't as alarming as it seems. She doesn't question it: why Maya is suddenly proclaiming her love like it's the last time she'll get to say it. On the outside, Maya seems tough, has a rough exterior. She's a no-nonsense, reckless bad-ass, but once they started dating, Riley was lucky enough to see what was underneath: a lovesick nerd. She was filled with  _I love you's_ and heart-eyes, the two often randomly calling each other throughout the day to say they loved each other.

It was their thing.

Riley's heart swells, aching for Maya-her touch, her lips, her kiss,  _her._

Only a few more hours and she'll be home.

"Aw, Maya-I love you too. I'll see you soon, okay? And, I'll show you  _just_ how much I love you." An uncontrollable laugh spills from Riley's lips. She's awful at flirting, but that doesn't stop her from trying.

"Bye, Honey."

"Bye, Peaches," Riley hums, before ending the call.

She glances at the time-six pm. She has about two hours to prepare for the night, she ought to start now. Stretching her arms, she forces herself to get up and out of her bed. 

_Two more hours to the rest of her life._

From underneath the nightstand, she pulls open a cabinet and rifles through files. Underneath a stack of papers, is a red, small box. She fiddles with it until it opens, revealing a tiny diamond ring, brushing the diamond with her thumb. She twists the ring around, index finger grazing the inscription:  _honey._

To one, this might seem early. After all, her and Maya are only twenty-four years old. Fresh out of college, fresh to adulthood. But her parents were even younget when they got engaged, and they were in love since they were kids.

Riley fell in love with Maya when she was only eight, first kissing her when they were fourteen. After ten  years together, she knows that her heart belongs to Maya Hart.

 _Riley Matthews-Hart._ She likes the sound of that.

Everything about proposing feels right to Riley. 

She can't wait to be with Maya for the rest of her life.

 

 

 

 

Riley steps out of the shower half an hour later when the landline rings.

She frowns-no one ever uses the landline.

Who the hell would be calling?

Her hair is slick and wet, dripping droplets of water as she does a small jog out of the bathroom to grab the phone, answering it on the third call. "Hello?" She answers cheerily, unable to contain the giddiness in her voice.

" _Is this Riley Matthews speaking?"_

The voice is deep and grave. All too serious.

Riley's body stiffens. Something isn't right. "This is she," she replies, and the world slows down.

" _Are you Maya Hart's emergency contact?_ "

It takes everything in her to not collapse to the floor, every muscle in her body straining to keep her up, to keep from defying gravity. "Y-y-yes, I am."

" _I'm sorry to say..._ "

It's in that moment that the world, time, and everything in between comes to a halt. Stops entirely.

_Shot...mugging gone wrong...found by an elderly couple...alleyway..._

" _Miss Matthews, would you be able to come down to the morgue to confirm her identity? We understand if it's too difficult for-"_

"No," Riley interrupts calmly, "it's not a problem. I'll be there as soon as I can." She hangs up, sets the phone down. 

Nothing feels real. She's too numb to react. Maya's not-she can't be-

She just spoke to her! It's impossible, it's not her, it's not-

And like a domino effect, everything starts to click into place. The phone call. Maya wanted to hear her voice for the last time. Rather than call 911, to even try to save her life, she just wanted to talk to Riley. The love of her life.

_Oh god._

Her hands shake as she slips into a sweater and pants, dials Lucas' number with quivering fingers that refuse to stay still.

"L-Lucas?" 

She can hear the smile in his voice. "Shouldn't you be preparing to propose? Do you need help? Any last minute-"

"Maya's been shot," she cuts in. She can't listen to him talk about her plan, about the proposal that won't happen, about the life she'll never get to live. "I need to confirm her body. Please pick me up?"

She doesn't cry when Lucas picks her up. He cries quietly, harder on the drive there. 

She doesn't cry when she walks into the morgue, the aura of death hanging heavily in the air.

She doesn't even cry when she  _sees Maya's body._ It doesn't even look like she's dead: just like she's taking a nap. She looks so peaceful, so calm, so beautiful. How can she be  _dead?_

"It's her," she says monotonously.

This must be a nightmare.

It has to be.

None of this can be real.

"Riley, are you-"

"It's Maya."

When she walks out, everything catches up to her: the world starts to move again.

In one second, as the death of Maya Hart sinks in, Riley sinks to her knees.

" _She was too young,_ " she sobs, hands flying to her face as tears drip down her cheeks. "I loved her, I did-"

Lucas breaks with her, dropping to his feet to help her back up. "I know, Riles. I know."

"I was going to propose, Lucas, she was supposed to marry me-"

"Riley-"

"I just talked to her, how can she be dead-"

"Riley."

Riley stops. Her vision is fuzzy with the tears that just keep coming, and she blinks them away. "Lucas."

"Let's go home."

She's too tired to argue with him as he helps her back to her feet, supporting her with one arm. She lets him hold her, sure that if she doesn't, she'll fall down and won't get up.

_Home._

What an idealistic place.

They say home is where the heart is-

and her home is with Maya, dead, laying lifelessly in a morgue.

Lucas takes her back to Riley's apartment, calling everyone that needs to be called since Riley's hands shake too much: Katy, Topanga, Farkle, Smackle, Zay. He does this after he's tucked Riley into bed, promising he'll spend the night, and that everyone will join her as soon as they can.

She lays there, her body exhausted, but she knows she can't sleep no matter how hard she tries. 

Riley shuts her eyes and if she focuses, she can hear Maya.

Those two words: the words Riley will spend the rest of her life replaying, over and over again.

_Bye Honey._

And somewhere else, light years away yet somehow simultaneously inches away, Maya Hart stands, watching the love of her life try to hold herself together when all she wants to do is break.

 _I'll see you again,_ she tries to say.  _Somewhere, someday. I'll find you._

And defying all rules of logic, Riley swears she hears that damn voice, and she holds onto it.

_Somewhere, someday._

"I'm holding you to it, Peaches."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who else is crying

**Author's Note:**

> haha i hate myself


End file.
